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Ask an Expert
Log Title: Ask an Expert Characters: Dust Devil, Jetfire, Scales; IRC handles Rawhead, Visitor 1042, Guardian, Clarity, Puff Location: Gates of Iacon Date: November 5, 2019 TP: A Star Is Born TP Summary: Dust Devil continues to work with Jetfire in the aerospace division. Scales comes by with a medical and ethical problem. Category:2019 Category:A Star Is Born TP Category:Logs As logged by '' Scales '''Jetfire frowns slightly "Well... no, sides don't always matter much when you talk about Aerialbots and Technobots, but certainly when you talk about Decepticons and Autobots." He looks at the screen that Dust Devil is working on. "Actually...if you were to recalbriate this... by say... 23.13 degrees..." He smiles. "There... much better."' GAME: Dust Devil PASSES an INTELLIGENCE roll of Immense difficulty. Dust Devil sees what Jetfire is pushing at and looks over the recalibration percentage. A grin appears. "I didn't think a one hundreth of a point would make that much difference...but it's right in the parameters set and gives maximum amperage to the system without blowin out any of the components...." Jetfire smirks dryly "Careful...you might actually like it here." Dust Devil rolls his optics. "If I didn't have ta look up ta everyone i'd probably be better. Maybe I need my area on a pedestle so I'm not one of the shorter ones here. Jetfire gives a hearty chuckle, probably too hearty again. "There are a few Aerialbots and Technobots that match your height. Or at least come close to it!" Scales wanders into the area, poking her head in first before entering the room. Jetfire looks over and identifies Scales. "Oh! Scales! Greetings." He looks down at Scales and offers a hand. "Is there something the aerospace division can be of service to you today?" Scales blinks up at Jetfire. "Um... nothing in particular? Just kind of... wandering around. Thinkin'." Jetfire nods and gets back up to his feet. "You've come to the right place for that." He gestures to Dust Devil. "Dust Devil has come up with some interesting ideas in terms of the operation of the force field." Dust Devil tries to hide the fact that he's enjoying being praised instead of cursed. "All I did was try ta intagrate what I put in my personal forcefield without overloadin it....ya know?" Scales perks slightly. "Oh, cool! So is this all still theory or have you been puttin' it into practice?" Jetfire nods and says eagerly "And, he's even incorporating crystal formations and frequencies into this theory." He smirks and says in a joking tone "Perhaps a bit over-zealously yesterday, but still...we got some good information out of it, right?" Scales nods, peering up at Dust Devil's work. "An' it got fixed, anyway." Dust Devil says, "Little of both...I haven't messed with Iacon's forcefield...but I'm settin up some idea on how ta change things so that when we DO ut a forcefield up it'll be stronger than the one we had before." Jetfire smirks through his faceplate. "THAT's the spirit!" Scales grins, looking a bit less hesitant. "Neat! What did you do? Did you ever figure out that super crystal hybrid you were talkin' about yesterday?" Dust Devil says, "I've got a bunch of crystals that I need ta go through back at my base...There might be somethin already available that we can use. Growin crystals can be a pain." Jetfire looks down at Dust Devil and says hopefully "You still have 5 days here, I can get someone to bring those crystals over to your workstation here." Dust Devil says, "Ya can't get ta my base...the location is secret and over by Altihex. Place is coded ta me. I could see if Backblast might be able ta get there. But I'm kinda particular on who goes ta Alpha Trion's workshop and accesses stuff." Scales looks up at Jetfire. "Five days?" Jetfire nods "Very well." He adds "Do you need the crystals to complete your analysis, or can we amass maybe some similar, or hopefully identical crytal formations here?" Dust Devil grins mischieviously, "Punishment detail from Jetfire...." yep, he's still a pain. "I'm tryin ta see everythin else I ccan work on before needin the crystals. Most of the crystals I have collected have been discovered deep underground where someone like me or smaller can get through and there's lots of critters to avoid. Forcefields are important.: Scales ooohs. "Yeah, that would help a lot." Jetfire frowns and folds his arms, giving a disappointed look at Dust Devil. "I haven't 'punished' you in the least since you arrived here. Yes, you've made some errors, but everyone on this team has made errors, and will continue to make errors. That's why we like to say science is a practice." Dust Devil grins at JEtfire, "Maybe I need ta give ya the humor lessons I've been workin on with Cerebros. Just so ya know...this is givin Cerebros a week off of my trainin." Jetfire looks at Dust Devil and says "He's got good resources to reach out to. I believe this is important as well." Scales nods. "So long as he stays safe." Jetfire nods and parrots Scales' statement "Correct, so long as he stays safe." Dust Devil raises his hands, "I'm not responsible if he wanders off like he's prone ta and I'm not followin him around cause I'm here. I ain't gonna let anyone get mad at me when I'm doin what I'm asked." Scales hehs at Dust Devil. "I wouldn't blame you, Dusty. At some point, you gotta learn to take a friend out with you." Jetfire says curtly, getting just a tad irked. "No one is mad at you, Dust Devil. We worked out an arragement. Everyone knows you are here." Jetfire adds calmly "And maybe it's part of the process. Maybe Cerebros needs to figure out some things on his own." He adds "That said, everyone knows you're not his protector." Dust Devil sighs, "I learned a lot of things on my own. Most of them involved pain of some sort. I was hopin ta avoid havin Cerebros learn things that way. I know I can't take ALL the lessons from him that way...but I don't like the idea of him gettin hurt. Ya know?" Jetfire says sagely "You can't prevent everything from happening to him." He frowns and sees that they've been talking for an hour. "Well...you've made it another day." Scales nods to Dust Devil, then looks up at Jetfire. "So.. is this a certain amount of time per day for a certain number of days kinda thing?" Jetfire looks at Dust Devil. "We have several projects we're juggling, but we can't work everyone to exhaustion." He looks at Dust Devil. "Chromia was kind enough to give Dust Devil a sort of trial period in this division." Scales hmms, tilting her head. "So... just moving from project to project, working on science right now?" Jetfire says proudly "Well, we're in aerospace, but we have quite the few science experiments going." Scales mmmms. "Interested in a medical problem? I was kinda lookin' around for Ratchet, but..." Jetfire opens his hand up. "Sure, we'd be happy to help" - Jetfire says, happily volunteering Dust Devil's services. Dust Devil says, "WHat's the problem?" Scales ers, pulling out a data slug and plugging it into a terminal. The information stored within is thorough- and probably recognizable since it has multiple scans of Deathsaurus. "It's this- Deathsaurus has some kinda growth inside that's slowly drawing resources from his body. If it keeps up, it might end up drawing enough to kill him." She looks from over at Dust Devil and then back up to Jetfire. "Thing is, it's got it's own sparkpulse, it's own EM signature- and Deathsaurus has been hearing voices. It could be he's just hallucinating from the stress on his frame, but..." The oldest scan would definitely be familiar to Jetfire- it's from when Deathsaurus was repaired on Jetfire's insistence when Imager was returned. The lastest is very recent, though. Less than a week old. Jetfire looks inward and frowns in concentration. "Fascinating..." He looks over at the comparisons. "And the complications for a surgical removal would be..." he looks over at Scales. "Sorry, looking at a partial picture here." Scales nods. "It's right up against his own spark. I mean, if he were an Autobot, I'd order him to bed rest an' have him monitored until I figured out a safe way to remove it. But he's not. If I or somebody else wanted to help him, we'd probably hafta all but kidnap him. An' with a second signature in there.. it's not just him involved." Scales adjusts the scans to better show the area affected- the growth is attached to Deathsaurus' spark casing. Jetfire frowns and sighs. "Well, if he wants help, he can always defect." He looks at Scales. "We can't capture him, the only way we could really repair him is if he engaged us in battle, and we would injure him enough for him to seek medical treatment." He sighs "But otherwise...he did kill one of our finest Autobots in cold blood." Jetfire sighs "It's sad, but... he sort of 'dug' himself into his current predicament." Scales mms. "Yeah. An' if it were just him, it'd be an easier question. But that's a second pulse." GAME: Jetfire PASSES an INTELLIGENCE roll of High difficulty. Jetfire tilts his head and looks at Scales. "So...what have you determined about this 'second pulse'?" Jetfire looks at the readings. "Sorry...I assumed this was a parasitic form, and the 'voices' were aside effect that would have caused hallucinations." Scales pulls up more of the details from the scan. "Its own pulse, its own signature, centered around the growth. Not Deathsaurus. And it's possible that it is just a parasite and he's hallucinating. But it's also possible that this is a person who's talking. With the systems meshed that closely, there's more than enough connection. And it's hard to say -which- hypothesis is right." Jetfire sighs "Wonderful..." He looks at Scales. "So...an innocent MAY be in danger." Scales nods. "Maybe. It -does- look Cybertronian, at least. I could tell that much. But beyond that.." GAME: Jetfire FAILS a LEADERSHIP roll of High difficulty. Jetfire looks at Scales. "Well...the easiest path... given that a lot of evidence 'points' to a parasite - is that it's not our problem. Let his own handlers solve the issue, and only intervene if he poses a clear and present risk to any Autobot or innocent, right?" GAME: Dust Devil FAILS an INTELLIGENCE roll of Extreme difficulty. GAME: Dust Devil PASSES an INTELLIGENCE roll of Very High difficulty. Dust Devil looks at the scans and the two bots. "so....either he ate someone and they're still alive and talkin ta him. Or someone didn't have the birds and bees talk with him like Spike had ta give Daniel? Wonder if Spike would do that....maybe I should ask him." <> Dust Devil says, "Hey Spike?" <> Spike says, "Uh...yeah?" <> Dust Devil says, "When yer bored, do ya think you could give someone the 'talk' that you gave Daniel? I'm definitely not qualified really and the person may already be in trouble. Not sure if it's helpful after the fact and all....Or did Carly give the talk? I forget whose job it is ta give that sort of thing." Scales hehs at Dust Devil. "It looks a -lot- like organic reproduction, doesn't it? Except we're not built for that. It's drawing a lot of resources from Deathsaurus. If it keeps up, it might kill him.. and probably then die itself, without a means to keep growing. Which, if it -is- just a parasite, isn't a problem. But if it's somebody in a messed up situation?" < irc.dal.net> gaah. Dust Devil is grinning mischieviously < irc.dal.net> look. I know some of you are listening and know Im listening. Let /me/ give it this time. Maybe you guys can understand it. Dust Devil says, "Hey...if it IS like that....wonder if he lays an egg or it pops out of his chest like that one movie." <> Spike says, "Well, actually, it was sort of a joint effort betwee - wait... wait… What...WHO needs this talk?" < irc.dal.net> Problems? < irc.dal.net> poeple having the human reproduction conversation again. Trust me. I've heard it a million time.s i know how it happens. Jetfire makes a face at Dust Devil. "That sounds horrible." He looks at Scales. "This...time stamp...is very current." He looks at Scales. "Did someone hack into the Decepticon medical computer?" < irc.dal.net> Its like this: <> Dust Devil laughs! <> Spike lets out a put-upon sigh (Dust Devil knows the exact one) < irc.dal.net> The female has a factory in her that can produce one offspring every 8-9 months. The male has the parts. The male delivers the parts and in 8-9 months there is a product. Scales shakes her head. "I took the scans myself. There's a private repair bay attached to the Valvolux arena, so he let me check him with the stuff there." < irc.dal.net> Except when there's something that causes premature delivery. < irc.dal.net> factory defects. < irc.dal.net> its pretty inefficient. but thats how it goes. < irc.dal.net> May be inefficient but loads of fun. < irc.dal.net> theres lots of them so it must be. < irc.dal.net> Well some only procreate to "ensure the survival of the human race". Jetfire frowns. "To be honest, I don't feel all that great engaging a Decepticon who has killed one of our best, but...in this case..." He says thoughtfully "There is that pesky moral gray area." < irc.dal.net> Im sure humans are preprogrammed to enjoy their procreation. < irc.dal.net> Depends on who you ask. Some think any enjoyment is absolutely sinful and that it should just be done out of necessity. < irc.dal.net> <> ...that is the most PG way to put it. < irc.dal.net> religon is hardly a biological function. < irc.dal.net> Nobody ever said the religious were particularly... bright. Scales nods. "I've been thinking it over off an' on for a while, now," she admits. "If something is gonna be done about it, it should probably be soon. He's still on the right side of starvation so far, but the numbers don't look good." < irc.dal.net> I was an athiest once. < irc.dal.net> then I mindmelded with one of my species gods. so. < irc.dal.net> You'd stick your mind in nearly anything, though. GAME: Jetfire PASSES an INTELLIGENCE roll of High difficulty. < irc.dal.net> Not so. just things that interest me. Jetfire frowns and folds his arms. "Well...we can't exactly 'arrest' Deathsaurus. We're in a war. He engaged in combat with Star Saber, and as horrible as his death was...it does fall into the parameters as combat." < irc.dal.net> you guys are nasty. < irc.dal.net> If you want nasty I can get particularly explicit on how reproduction ACTUALLY works. < irc.dal.net> I've been shown that. thank you. Scales nods. "He's probably still in Valvolux, at least. But that's Dominicon territory." < irc.dal.net> Ten seconds on the internet and you can find footage. Not difficult. < irc.dal.net> That only shows some of it. < irc.dal.net> you think how the reproduction works is nasty you should try having a sick humanoid baby when they're expelling out both ends crying uncontrollably and perfectly fine and healthy in a few hours. < irc.dal.net> Pretty sure I DID that at some point in my youth. Dust Devil's optics widen and he starts laughing. "Soundwave just sent me some information if I want ta explain how human anatomy works...." < irc.dal.net> you ever had to be the parent there and not really understanding how the species works and having to explain to a group of space pirates why we must get library books on early childhood illnesses and behavior patterns? reproduction has nothing on all that. GAME: Jetfire FAILS an INTELLIGENCE roll of Immense difficulty. Scales makes a face. "I've seen that kinda stuff. " < irc.dal.net> I'm not looney enough to have kids, adopted or otherwise. Jetfire waves a dismissive hand at Dust Devil. "We're not talking human anatomy, we're discussing Transformer anatomy." < irc.dal.net> its both the most horrifying and rewarding experience you can ever have. your crew will think you are out of your mind but its worth it. < irc.dal.net> I know of a human trying to raise a young cybertronian too. i bet its just as confusing. At least he has a support group of cybertronians so it should turn out. well as decently as an autobot can. < irc.dal.net> I walk around with a flaming skull. My crew already thinks I'm out of my mind. < irc.dal.net> that sounds like a fire hazard. < irc.dal.net> Only on bad days. Scales looks back at the scans. "And, if somebody were willing to risk it, it might be possible to use the same repair bay to attempt surgery to separate the growth from Deathsaurus, I guess. But unless it was cleared with the Dominicons first, there wouldn't be much of a chance to stay long. It'd be get in, do the surgery, and leave." < irc.dal.net> hey raw? < irc.dal.net> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blWonxb9YAo&list=RDhb7W_cikUp0&index=23 < irc.dal.net> If only it was really like that. I kinda miss it, but if given the chance, I dont think I'd return to intergalactic piracy. < irc.dal.net> I never plan to retire from piracy. Dust Devil grins, "I know I know but...it's just what he said. 'Just tell them I said this is how it works: The female has a factory in her that can produce one offspring every 8-9 months. The male has the parts. The male delivers the parts and in 8-9 months there is a product.' I'm wodnering how many times he had ta explain this ta the cons." Scales puts her face in a paw. "That leaves out a lot of the details." < irc.dal.net> ha. Im nowhere near retiring. Just moving to a different line of work for as little time as I have left. I don't find the need to wander anymore. That desperate search for resources I had at the time. Jetfire 's faceplate frowns in concern again. "Well, obviously, I'd rather not risk ANY Autobots for this operation." He nods and nods to Dust Devil. "Yes, yes, that's all fascinating." He looks at Scales. "Would it be possible to rescan Deathsaurus? Maybe bring Ratchet into it, but find some better diagnostics to confirm if it's a parasite or a living organism?" He adds "If it's a parasite..." he looks at Scales and Dust Devil. "Sorry, I'm not too concerned unless Deathsaurus wants to defect and repent." < irc.dal.net> I want to do whats right for my crew. Find the ones still out there. Show them there is a home, a port to return to. < irc.dal.net> I pillage and plunder for the enjoyment of it. Scales nods to Jetfire. "No, no, I get that." She looks around. "I was kinda -lookin'- for Ratchet, to see what he thought of it once I showed it to him." She hmms. "What kinda better diagnostics would you have in mind?" < irc.dal.net> I started piracy to build an empire. empire's built. there may be rebuilding that needs to be done but thats a different game isnt it? Not that I'll b e there for it. < irc.dal.net> My cocaptain will do fine with it. If I can contact her that is. < irc.dal.net> my hope is that my son grows to be an emperor, not a pirate. Though last I talked to him thats what he wanted to be. A pirate. I hope he changes his mind. GAME: Jetfire FAILS an INTELLIGENCE roll of Very High difficulty. < irc.dal.net> I became a pirate for a change from my training as a Lamprey. < irc.dal.net> what is a lamprey? Jetfire smiles through his faceplate "Anything that could determine what we're dealing with - parasite or living organism." < irc.dal.net> You were training to be a slimy eel? < irc.dal.net> are those the fish that suck blood off of sturgeon? < irc.dal.net> Nah, Eel was the first step. Lamprey is more specialized. GAME: Scales PASSES a TECHNICAL roll of Immense difficulty. < irc.dal.net> I dot think we're talking fish though < irc.dal.net> I have plenty of experience with underwater demolitions, piloting various vessels and other things. < irc.dal.net> ah. a military thing? < irc.dal.net> In a sense. < irc.dal.net> for what country if I may be so bold? Scales hmms. "Some kinda processor scan would probably help the most- you'd be able to tell if it had thoughts, at least. Though that doesn't necesarily rule out parasite? But you'd at least know if it thinks.." She gets out a datapad and starts poking at it, pulling up an older design she had in there to modify. < irc.dal.net> No one country. More for an organization. < irc.dal.net> Ah. Merc? < irc.dal.net> No, I have loyalty to the organization I work for. < irc.dal.net> what organization is that? < irc.dal.net> Cobra. < irc.dal.net> Ah. I've dealt with the nation of Cobra Unity. < irc.dal.net> One of my boss's projects. < irc.dal.net> They are wary of my kind. Jetfire looks at Scales and asks "Let me guess, you've already determined what's in Deathsaurus is unlike anything we've seen before?" < irc.dal.net> but are not hostile. < irc.dal.net> To be honest? < irc.dal.net> I think most of the human nations, if not all are innocent in our war. < irc.dal.net> Caution is to be expected to a certain degree. < irc.dal.net> I understand my allies have had raw deals with them in the past. < irc.dal.net> Not something I am privy to as it is not in my field. Scales blinks up at Jetfire. "Well, it's not like anything that's on file, no.. but it's enough like normal Cybertronian physiology to not be totally alien, either. So, uh, I guess it depends on what you mean by 'unlike anything'." She frowns at her work. "This is a lot harder to figure out how to do when the potential processor might be inside somebody else's body.." and pokes at it some more. < irc.dal.net> many people think that my mindset is like Megatrons. < irc.dal.net> My mindset is: you leave me alone I leave you alone unless it's orders from on high. < irc.dal.net> I respect that. < irc.dal.net> my higher ups want me wasting the Earth because of something the US did. But I choose not to. < irc.dal.net> Far too many idiots in charge of different things, especially in the US. < irc.dal.net> Hey, Visitor! < irc.dal.net> It's why I tend to stick to the sea unless pillaging. < irc.dal.net> Hello puff. How are you? < irc.dal.net> you know what they say about leadership < irc.dal.net> I'm good! How are you? Are you still handing out in the party city? < irc.dal.net> The real smart ones dont do it. < irc.dal.net> The higher up you go the dumber you become? < irc.dal.net> I am. as long as they give me free food. ha. < irc.dal.net> hey now I do some leadership myself. :> < irc.dal.net> And I'm a pirate captain. And? < irc.dal.net> There are exceptions to every rule. < irc.dal.net> Im not even sure theres a name for what I do. Jetfire gets up. "Well, I have some matters to tend to, but I'm guessing what I'm going to do tomorrow." He looks at Scales. "Feel free to use our facilities tomorrow if you need any additional resources that aren't available in medical." He looks at Dust Devil. "I was going to put you on this, but you've been cooped up in the lab for two days, I'm guessing you'll want to do the field tests with the Aerialbots tomorrow." He looks at Scales and nods. "Excellent work so far." < irc.dal.net> you back home working, puff? < irc.dal.net> Yup. Got something weird to work on. Might come by and say hi, okay? < irc.dal.net> okay. im out at the stands b ut I can go back to medical if you want. < irc.dal.net> I gotta figure out what sort of payment you want anyways. < irc.dal.net> Not right this minute, but I'll be around soonish. Maybe tomorrow, if I can figure out this testing rig and get it put together by then. < irc.dal.net> what are you testing? Maybe I can help? < irc.dal.net> Im pretty good with technical things. Not trained but I can figure things out easy. < irc.dal.net> Well, I plan on using it on you, so... < irc.dal.net> Just to measure stuff, not do anything yet. < irc.dal.net> on me? ...wonderful. That doesnt sound good considering. so what is it? < irc.dal.net> Mmmm... maybe not over a public channel. I'll tell you about it tomorrow if we meet up then, alright? I won't put it on you if it scares you, but it's not invasive. < irc.dal.net> interesting. < irc.dal.net> ah medical thing. considering I wasnt sure if it was a weapo or not. < irc.dal.net> weapon < irc.dal.net> I don't make weapons. < irc.dal.net> If it has any sort of potential, it is a weapon. It's just a matter of whose hands it is in. < irc.dal.net> I'm not saying that this sort of thing couldn't be used to make a weapon. I'm just not going to do that. And that's also why I'm not going to tell people what it is over an unsecured channel, either. < irc.dal.net> my frequencies are open. < irc.dal.net> sorry Im slow. < irc.dal.net> No, no. It can wait. I gotta get it put together first anyway. < irc.dal.net> I assume you have people helping you right? < irc.dal.net> I have consulted with someone. < irc.dal.net> Do they know who they are helping? < irc.dal.net> Do you want them to know? < irc.dal.net> They should. So they know what they're getting involved in. < irc.dal.net> Anybody who gets involved will know before they meet you. < irc.dal.net> Anyway, I'm going to go work on this and focus. I just wanted to know if you'd still be available to meet later. < irc.dal.net> THank you if..you need help let me know Log session ending at 21:27:39 on Tuesday, 5 November 2019.